David Bowie’s legacy was celebrated on Saturday (Jan. 9) with an evening full of marvelous virtual performances of the late rock icon’s music by some of his biggest all-star fans.
Originally scheduled for Friday, on what would’ve been Bowie’s 74th birthday, the streaming tribute A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! was delayed 24 hours “due to technical difficulties and COVID-19 restrictions,” organizers said.
The three-hour special, organized by Bowie’s former pianist Mike Garson, featured stellar covers by dozens of artists, including Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Duran Duran, Adam Lambert, Yungblud, Perry Farrell, Corey Taylor, Peter Frampton and Boy George.
The one-night-only paid event also featured Bowie’s longtime producer Tony Visconti and members of his final touring band.
Duran Duran opened the concert with a spine-tingling cover of “Five Years,” the opening track from Bowie’s classic 1972 album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Dust and the Spiders from Mars. Watch the performance here.
“My life as a teenager was all about David Bowie,” frontman Simon Le Bon wrote on social media in releasing a recorded version of the cover. “He is the reason why I started writing songs.”
Smashing Pumpkins’ Corgan also joined the show, delivering an emotional cover of the classic “Space Oddity.” Backed by Garson on piano, the hard-hitting performance featured Corgan’s impressive vocal range complemented by blue-hued space visuals or planets and constellations. Watch it here.
Reznor, who toured and recorded with Bowie in the mid 1990s, also made an appearance for two dazzling songs, “Fantastic Voyage” and “Fashion.” The Nine Inch Nails frontman was given a special introduction prior to taking the stage.
“In the early ’90s, David said to me, ‘Keep an eye on this next singer, he’s someone to be reckoned with,” Garson recalled with a grin. Watch Reznor’s set here.
Other standout performances included a theatrical performance of “Starman” by a glammed up Lambert and Yungblud, who wowed the audience with his powerful take on “Life on Mars?”
Proceeds from the Celebration: Just For One Day! concert will be donated to Save the Children, which Bowie supported with ticket sales from his 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden in 1997.
